Romo’s 20g IM Peninsula Build

RomoFL · Sep 17, 2018

I recently got an IM Peninsula 20 - which is basically a 20L that has compartments on one end for nano-type equipment. This tank will be sitting on my counter island in my living room. My vision is to have a reef tank with a few fish and trying to keep it as simple as possible - so no sumps or refuge tanks etc. I'll be starting with live rock and live sand and once that is cycled, introduce some hermit crabs and snails, then shortly after a shrimp or two. I still haven't fully decided on fish but I know I won't have more than 5 in there to keep the bioload reasonable.

Here's what I have or plan on getting - any thoughts are welcomed:

IM Peninsula 20L tank
Current Orbit Marine LED 24"-36" (hoping it'll be sufficient for my goals)
InTank Media Basket w/ Chemi Puer Blue & Purigen & floss
Sicce Syncra Silent 1.0 251 gph pump
Current eFlux wave pump 1050 gph (main current pump)
eShopps Protein Nano Skimmer (for later when bioload is higher)
Mesh top (do not have yet.. considering making my own?)
LED mount (not sure if I'll have space to mount with the skimmer.. waiting for parts to get in)
Cobalt 75w

9-16-2018

So yesterday, Sunday, I got my 19lb of live rock, 20lb of live sand and salt water and started my first saltwater tank cycle! I was planning on saltwater rinsing the sand but that thought went out the window as I was so excited putting everything together while aquascaping. You can see in the attached photos day 1 is super cloudy. I took some water levels and they are as follows (using Salifert kits): Ph 7.4; Ammonia 0; Nitrates 10. This is the best I can tell.. I think the test vials are too big and would like to find more narrow vials for better reading.

You’ll also find in the pics attached the very next day around noon.. the tank is looking really clear. I won’t be testing today, probably wait another day at least. I do have some photos of a couple of hitchhiker corals. Can anyone help me identify these??

TheEngineer · Sep 17, 2018

Nice start!

The first picture is of a zoanthid or palythoa. Give it some time and it might color up nicely.

The second picture appears to be a majano anemone, not a welcome hitchiker. You'll want to remove it or kill it. Feeding it some kalk paste or covering it with super glue will usually do the trick.

RomoFL · Sep 17, 2018

TheEngineer said:
Nice start!

The first picture is of a zoanthid or palythoa. Give it some time and it might color up nicely.

The second picture appears to be a majano anemone, not a welcome hitchiker. You'll want to remove it or kill it. Feeding it some kalk paste or covering it with super glue will usually do the trick.

Thanks engineer! I’ll get some paste or super glue today. There are others just like it under that same rock. Can I remove the rock to apply the glue or past then put it back? Sounds silly - I just don’t know if I need to do it while it’s in the tank.

RomoFL · Sep 17, 2018

9-17-2018

Removed those anemones with freshwater and a razor. Did some more aquascaping and HOLY COW I was startled when I found a couple of bristle stars popping out! Remember I’m new to this so it was quite the a shocking experience lol! Anyhow I have two bristle stars now and that one bonus zoa. Today I dropped in the sacrificial raw shrimp and will be testing levels tomorrow.

TheEngineer · Sep 18, 2018

Nice work

RomoFL · Sep 19, 2018

Good morning all. I can’t believe how fast water is evaporating. Is grocery store distilled water ok during the cycle then RO/DI once livestock is introduced?

TheEngineer · Sep 19, 2018

It sure does

Depends on the store water. If it reads 0 TDS then it is good. Otherwise I’d avoid it. You don’t know what’s in it. You’re ok for a short time but eventually the undesirables will begin to build up.

Chrisfish · Sep 19, 2018

Welcome to R2R, very nice peninsula nano, I’ve been considering that tank myself. Will be following

Joshua2598 · Sep 20, 2018

Following along..

RomoFL · Sep 20, 2018

So today I got my mesh and last night I got my light. This mesh was a PITA to make. I also took out the shrimp as it got nasty quick and smelled pretty bad. Ammonia reads a little lower than I expected - 0.5ppm but my nitrates look to be about 50ppm. I’m going to let it settle for a week or so and check again once this weekend and the end of next week.

Oh and no I am not running my lights - they were on for pics only.

OffTopic · Sep 20, 2018

Looks great, following along!

RomoFL · Sep 30, 2018

Small update:

9/29/18

Tested the water again - pH at 7.7 ammonia had spiked earlier in the weak to 1ppm but now close to 0. Nitrates are about 25-50. Waiting for that to come down and then i'll add some Cuc and let it complete the cycle. This is only the end of the 2nd week.

RomoFL · Oct 10, 2018

10/10/18

I have a new tenant in my tank! Got myself a purple fire fish and his name is Michael Bolton - no relation to THE Michael Bolton. He’s doing well and already claimed a spot as his home. He’s on krill pellets for now.

In addition to Mr. Bolton, I apparently have had some bristle worms hiding out in one of my rocks. I took the rock out, dipped it in tap water then let it sit in a bucket of seawater with fish pellets for a day. The next day I see several curled up bristle worms outside the rock - I guess they got traumatized by the tap water bath. I might have more in my tank - I’m not sure. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more.

sm32589g · Oct 10, 2018

Nice tank. Following this thread!

RomoFL · Oct 10, 2018

sm32589g · Oct 11, 2018

How are you liking the tank size? Would you have gone smaller?

RomoFL · Oct 11, 2018

I think this size was perfect for me. I actually wanted to start off bigger but I really didn’t have anywhere to put a tank. My father has a 16g cube he loves and it sits on a small end table in the living room.

sm32589g · Oct 11, 2018

I want bigger too for more fish. But bigger tanks are a lot more...everything. I think the small size is nice and subtle. I'm also considering a 22long